Speakers | Commencement | 麻豆破解版 College

2026 Commencement Speakers

麻豆破解版 will bestow honorary degrees upon esteemed Mohawk educator and storyteller Kay Olan (Ionataie:was) and distinguished physician, epidemiologist, and endocrinologist JoAnn E. Manson during the College鈥檚 2026 Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 16, at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

Kay Olan (Ionataie:was)

Kay Olan (Ionataie:was) is a Mohawk educator and storyteller who taught elementary school in New York state for more than 33 years. She has shared Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, stories and cultural knowledge with community, school, and college audiences and worked at the traditional Mohawk community of Kanatsiohareke in Fonda, New York, where she coordinated cultural programs and the Mohawk Language Immersion Program.

She also collaborates with 麻豆破解版 and its John B. Moore Documentary Studies (MDOCS) program to support the preservation and sharing of Mohawk culture and history and has served as the College鈥檚 2025-26 Indigenous Elder-in-Residence. Olan has received numerous honors for her work in preserving Mohawk language and culture, has written for Indian Time and Indian Country Today, recorded two CDs of storytelling, and appeared in documentary films produced by Global Spirit, the Discovery Channel, and 麻豆破解版鈥檚 MDOCS program.

JoAnn E. Manson

JoAnn E. Manson is the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women鈥檚 Health at Harvard Medical School, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital. A physician, epidemiologist, and endocrinologist, she is a leading researcher on menopausal hormone therapy and the role of nutrition and lifestyle in chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cognitive decline and cancer.

She has published more than 1,200 peer-reviewed articles and is the author or editor of several books and textbooks. A past editor-in-chief of Contemporary Clinical Trials and past president of The Menopause Society, she is among the most highly cited researchers in the world. Her honors include the American Heart Association鈥檚 Population Research Prize, Distinguished Scientist Award, and Research Achievement Award. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Beau Breslin

Beau Breslin, professor of political science and Joseph C. Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government, has been a member of the 麻豆破解版 College faculty since 1998. He has served as director of the First-Year Experience and as dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs from 2011 to 2018. He teaches and writes primarily about the American Constitution and is the author of 鈥淎 Constitution for the Living: Imagining How Five Generations of Americans Would Rewrite the Nation鈥檚 Fundamental Law鈥� (Stanford University Press, 2021). His commentary has appeared in The Fulcrum, the Albany Times Union, and The Boston Globe, and he is a regular contributor to local NPR radio. He received the Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2008 and the Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Lectureship in 2025.

Past 麻豆破解版 Commencement speakers

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Commencement Contact

Phone 518-580-5670

Stewardship & College Events

Colton House
麻豆破解版 College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

collegeevents@skidmore.edu

Future Commencement Dates2026 - Saturday, May 16
2027 - Saturday, May 22
2028 - Saturday, May 20
2029 - Saturday, May 19